Several houses belonging to the West Papuan rebels, reported to be operating illegally on Papua New Guinean soil, have been destroyed....

The raid carried out by members of the P-N-G Defence Force, follows threats issued by the rebels recently, through a letter addressed to the Indonesian Consulate. OPM Leader, Mathias Wenda in that letter, threatened both P-N-G and Indonesian nationals, from crossing the border either by land, sea or air. Officer commanding Baro company, Peter Waiaki confirmed to NBC News in Vanimo today, his men destroyed those houses to protect our national security.

He said the Defence Force will not tolerate the actions of such an legitimate force who are using PNG soil for their legal operations and issuing threats against our own people.

Major Waiaki said soldiers are closely monitoring the situation at the border in light of the ongoing dispute between the rebels and Indonesia troops.

He also refused to give the exact number of houses destroyed within Mt. Bougainvile area when denying statements in the media by the rebels who said such incidents did not occur.

Major Waiaki added they took photographs of the burnt down houses to confirmed the raid and that no one was injured.